Cycling in Amsterdam: How to pedal like a local

Barry Neild, for CNN

Updated 0825 GMT (1625 HKT) February 16, 2015

Amsterdam by bicycle11 photos

Cycling in Amsterdam – Bikes are a great way of getting around Amsterdam. The city has about 4,000 kilometers (2,480 miles) of cycle paths and so many bikes it's like the Tour de France for normal riders.

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Canal boat storage – Sometimes bikes end up in a canal on purpose. One ingenious storage solution makes use of the city's waterways to accommodate a floating bike park.

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Multi-story bike park – Another huge facility outside the city's central station houses so many bikes it might be easier buying a new one rather than spending four days trying to remember where your old one is parked.

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Tourists vs. Locals – Cycle mechanic Geert Gelissen says tourists who don't know how to behave on Amsterdam's bike paths are a problem -- especially when they come up against "stubborn" Dutch cyclists.

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Lock it or lose it – An estimated 55,000 bikes get stolen every year in Amsterdam. Bike expert Geert Gelissen says a bike that isn't secured with a chunky lock attached to a solid object won't last more than a few weeks.

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No cycles here – Bikes aren't welcome everywhere in Amsterdam. If they're parked in the wrong spot, city authorities remove them to a pound on the outskirts of town. It's a long walk.

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Cyclists with baggage – Why use the train to carry your suitcase the full 20 kilometers to Amsterdam's airport when you can cycle?

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Give it a name – Samantha Shaffer (left) says giving a bike a name helps the rider "become one" with their steed.

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Cycling at night – Night cyclists are required by law to use lights. Drinking and cycling is illegal. But "after dark, assume everyone on a bike is drunk," jokes student Stephanie Shaffer.

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Any color, so long as it's black – Many big companies rent out bikes in lurid colors. The key to blending in is renting a typical Dutch-style cycle, like this black, indestructible machine.

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Clog cycle – The key to definitely not blending in is renting a bicycle shaped like an uncomfortable wooden shoe. Rent this and expect scornful looks from locals and ill-concealed mirth when it accidentally gets steered into a canal.

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Story highlights

Amsterdam is pancake flat and crisscrossed with 4,000 kilometers of bike paths

Local cyclists are said to get frustrated with tourists who dawdle or stop in the center of cycle paths

Bike theft is a problem with an estimated 55,000 cycles going missing every year

This piece, and several others on Amsterdam, complement the CNNGo TV series. This month's show gets an Olympian's tour of the city's markets and park and visits an unusual photography exhibition. It then explores the world of Amsterdam street food and takes in the city's best picture spots with an Instagram pro. More on Amsterdam plus the full show can be found here: www.cnn.com/cnngo

(CNN)Amsterdam should be a cyclist's dream.

It's pancake flat, it's riddled with cycle tracks and almost everyone gets around on two wheels.

There are so many bikes it looks like -- hard though this may be to imagine -- the Tour de France for normal riders.

In reality, it's a nightmare, or at least it is until you grasp the rules of the road -- and then it's a blast.

Within seven minutes of taking possession of my Dutch rental bike, a motor scooter nearly rams me into a canal.

By the time my first hour is up, I've been verbally abused for halting abruptly in a cycle lane, and been loudly tooted at by a tram after getting my tires stuck in its tracks.

I'm not the only one.

All around Amsterdam hapless bike-borne visitors can be seen wobbling into the paths of furious Dutch cyclists.

Pedal slowly while gawping at tulips, or stop to check your map, and pretty soon all of Amsterdam will hate you.

"When we're on bikes, Dutch people are always in a hurry, even when they're not in a hurry," says Guy Collot d'Esury, another Amsterdam bike mechanic.

"You don't have to ride like us, but if you can't, just stay out of our way and you'll be fine."

But make sure someone else doesn't steal it

"If it isn't locked to Earth, then expect it to go," says Samantha Shaffer, an economics major from Washington, D.C., whose year-long studies in Amsterdam have literally and figuratively included a crash course in Dutch cycling.

An estimated 55,000 bikes go missing annually in the city, fueling rumors of gangs targeting them to smuggle to Eastern Europe.

"People are afraid to buy brand new bikes, so they get some old thing for 100 euros ($136)," says Gelissen. "But if you lock it to something secure the chances are better."

Be careful where you lock it though.

Amsterdam authorities have begun removing bikes locked outside of extensive designated cycle parks on canals and at the central station.

It's a long walk to the pound on the outskirts of town to get it back.

After a day dodging tram rails or being railed at by impatient locals, it's tempting to park the wheels outside a canal-side pub to sink a few foam-topped Dutch beers before setting off again.

That's probably the fastest route to the bottom of the Prinsengracht Canal.

Amsterdam might have a liberal outlook on most things, but cycling under the influence of alcohol or whatever else is on offer isn't legal -- unless you're on the beer bike, a pedal-powered mobile bar.

That's not to say it doesn't happen.

"If you're out after dark, assume everyone on a bike is drunk," jokes Shaffer.

Stick to the cycle paths

Amsterdam might resemble a cyclists' free-for-all, with bikes zipping into every available space, but there are rules and cycling isn't permitted everywhere.

Sticking to the city's 4,000 or so kilometers (2,480 miles) of designated cycle path will ensure safety -- as long as other cyclists remain patient -- and get you there far faster.

When no way is marked by a cycle symbol, then it's possible to mingle with traffic.

The city does have pedestrian zones, though, so sometimes it's best to get off and walk.